Griffin ‘disturbed’ by criticism

WEXFORD’S LAST All-Ireland winning manger, Liam Griffin, has expressed his disappointment at the vindictiveness and criticism levelled at Davy Fitzgerald by former players.

Griffin said he was ‘disturbed’ by the way some former players have reacted to the manager’s pitch incursion against Tipperary in the National League semi-final.

There has been a clamour in the national media since the incident with ex-players calling on the book to be thrown at Fitzgerald.

The G.A.A’s Central Competitions Control Committee imposed an eight-week ban on the Wexford boss on Wednesday which would result in his absence from the sideline for their opening Leinster championship fixture against the round-robin qualifiers, and a potential provincial semi-final against Kilkenny on June 10.

Fitzgerald was punished for tangling with two Tipperary players after entering the field of play to remonstrate with the referee, Diarmuid Kirwan, following the Premier county’s second goal.

While Griffin believed Fitzgerald was wrong to come onto the pitch, he is adamant there has been an over-reaction to the incident.

‘I do agree that the G.A.A. have no alternative but to deal with Davy and give him a suspension but I don’t think any game should get sanitised,’ he said.

‘Davy is a character and I think hurling needs characters, but they can’t go outside the rules of the game and unfortunately Davy did and he’ll be suspended for it.

‘I think the severity of it is a bit much. I think a yellow card is appropriate and he should get some form of suspension but not eight weeks, and he should be warned that the next time he does it, he’ll get more than eight weeks,’ Griffin said.

‘I’m a bit disturbed by the amount of people and ex-players who are really putting the boot into Davy. That’s disappointing because these fellas know, as I know, that we’ve all been involved in incidents like this. Does that make it right? Of course it doesn’t make it right.

‘I’m disappointed by the vindictiveness of some some people towards a man who is bringing so much to hurling, that they want him suspended, and that is overly biased. I might be overly biased on the other side because I’m from Wexford but this was all a consequence of a refereeing error.

‘I’m sure the G.A.A. has done this by the book but I would call for calm and give him a rap across the knuckles.

‘I do think they should look at it and say eight weeks is a bit harsh, give him four weeks and say that the next time, he’ll get twelve. I think that would be something more measured.

‘I wouldn’t like to sanitise our game to be politically correct beyond measure because the country has gone that far and we don’t want Gaelic games to follow it. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have order in it. It should be chaotic but it should be controlled chaos,’ Griffin added. WHATEVER THE rest of the country may think, Davy Fitzgerald has the full backing of Wexford supporters.

That’s the view of former player and manager John Conran.

‘We’ve heard so much about the Nowlan Park incursion, now is the time to get behind Davy and his team,’ the Rathnure clubman said.

‘In lifting them from Division 1B, defeating Kilkenny in Nowlan Park for the first time since 1957, guiding them to a six-game winning run and simply making a dormant support vibrant again, Davy has lit the hurling flames in Wexford once again,’ he added.

Davy has endeared himself to Wexford supporters. He went out on a limb and has won over the hearts of the increasing Wexford following, who made up the majority of the 19,000-plus support base at the Kilkenny venue for the Tipperary semi-final clash.

Now is the time to move on, get behind Davy and the team, and look ahead to the championship.

‘The county is behind Davy, with 19,000 in Nowlan Park for the semi-final, and up to 15,000 at the same venue for Kilkenny. Liam Dunne had brought hurling so far, fair play to him, but Davy came in and took it to another level. More importantly the players rowed in behind him, and so far it has been super,’ Conran said.

‘Davy also brings great drama to it all. It takes two to tango so it was important for the players to row in behind him. With the result it has been a two-way street and has worked so well so far.

‘When he went on to the pitch, I know it was not right, but you could see the players respond to him, and they simply lifted themselves again. He has been great for Wexford hurling, and has brought so much to the game in the county, so hopefully before he ever thinks of leaving we will have a national title and some silverware in the bag.

‘We face a banana skin game in the quarter-final, but Davy is the sort of fella who will not be looking beyond that, even when others are talking about Kilkenny. Look, should we get to Kilkenny in Innovate Wexford Park, it will be a sell-out, a marvellous occasion.

‘Then Davy will see how the crowd is behind him and the team. We now need to move on and sustain our progress, as sustainability is important, and not let this just be a one-year thing.

‘Yes, Davy has been marvellous for Wexford and hurling. Let’s get behind him and sustain the progress, as it brings a smile to everyone,’ Conran added.